The postage stamp [?] has an ideological density per square centimetre that is probably more concentrated than any other medium of cultural expression. 
? David Scott, Stamp Semiotics : Reading Ideological Messages in Philatelic Designs, 1997.

Countries use stamps to present themselves to their citizens and the world. Though small in scale, they are a kind of monument, memorializing independence and revolutions, legends and ambitions. With paper and ink, nations make claims to a territory, define their sovereignty, and promote their leaders.